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The Association of Former Arsenal Players (A FAP) has this morning welcomed the club’s recent turbulent form, saying it provides their members with an opportunity to sound insightful and intelligent whilst boosting their own media profiles.

“It’s fantastic”, he told us from the association’s HQ in the little known US state of ‘Obvious’. “For years we’ve struggled with Arsenal winning things but now it couldn’t be more perfect.

“We simply tell our members to have a look on Twitter or the Facebook and see what Arsenal fans are saying. Then, when asked about Arsenal’s situation, say exactly the same thing but add in a little anecdote which begins with the words ‘Back when I was playing’.

“It’s a roaring success and to be honest we can barely keep up with demand. It’s Talksport one minute, the soaraway Sun the next and before you can say Tomas Danilevicius we’ve got the Milton Keynes Gazette wanting to speak to somebody about why Arsenal haven’t won a trophy in fifty six years or whatever it is.”

Yet it’s not just Arsenal fans that are providing top quality material for the former players to use on their media travels. None other than Arsene Wenger is the source for much of it.

“Some call it it the anti-Wenger axiom, it’s codename REGNEW on our 64 page rules and regulations booklet, but it’s basically saying the opposite of what he says.

“For example, Arsene will reference his team’s mental strength. When they lose just go out there and say they don’t have any. When he talks about the quality, ask where the quality is when they lose to the likes of Swansea.

“Arsene is so considerate that way, we’ll always be grateful to him.”

And Copping is hoping the good times keep on coming.

“It might not be great for the Arsenal trophy cabinet but we’re not complaining. Simply being able to go out there and just say what any fan with half a brain already knows is just brilliant for us!

Quotes – what have the former players been saying:

“Arsenal do not have mental strength” – Emmanuel Petit

“You look long and hard at this team and you have to think they need to play with the handbrake a little more off” - Kaba Diawara

“If they could just not lack a little bit the sharpness then I think they could win things again” – Nelson Vivas

Bergamrs, who is deflecting? You can express things in a constructive manner or you can give in to media hype which then detracts from your own message. Once you go along with the rollercoaster its very easy for the other side to dismiss you altogether, and then no one wins do they?

Actually most "experts" back AW as our best hope,wrongly in my opinion,ironic that they continually run us down and question most aspects of our game only to say sacking Wenger would be madnesss.
Lets not muddy the water we have been in decline for eight years and that has been overseen by Wenger.

Bergmars, I have never denied our decline in my posts, but this particular arguement has nothing to do with Wenger's role in it all does it? So there is no muddying the water, this is simply a call for cool heads and constructive arguements rather than tainting valid concerns with a broad brush whose colour quite frankly wont sit with anyone in the end.
Its quite easy to get swept along a current especially as it gathers momentum, but what seems to be happening more and more on this forum is that once they have their minds set on something everything gets thrown into the same boat, they lose ability to see things in an objective way.
This is by no means failing to see the wood for the trees as the bigger picture has already been acknowledged. If we think that Arsenal is in decline and theres is general negativity surrounding the clubs that doesnt mean we -should- view everything negatively about the club nor give in to every negatve slant put on anything emanating from or with regards to the club.

They sit there day and night giving their opinion on anything they can think of to do with Arsenal then get fed up with newspapers/pundits/ex players who do exactly the same thing.

Theres no Arsenal fan I walk away from more quickly than one who gives a f*ck about whether Gary Lineker smirked before he introduced our latest match of the day defeat, or because Adrian Durham said he thought Arsenal are better than Spurs. As for ex players, they played for Arsenal, then can say what they like. They probably didnt put much thought into it, and may have trotted out a few hackneyed comments. But then again they are busy people, unlike Arseblog.

Zainy your points are pertinent and I respect them,I just feel its time to stop the excuses and spin we have undeniably gone backwards and our leader is in denial.
Philly I know what I have seen and mate its rubbish and there can be no excuse.

Arseblog needs to come off the fence.
All he is doing is ducking the issue. Wenger is finished, its no less true if an ex player says it

- until Wenger moves on, they'll always be the also-rans in the major competitions. A club in elite purgatory. Always good enough to make it to the big race, never fast or smart enough to push over the finish line in first place. That's all about the manager. Until he changes, Arsenal fans will continue to celebrate glorious failure.

Seriously? This piece had absolutely nothing to do with whether the author thinks wenger is good enough or not.
It seems to some, that unless you write something negative about arsenal you can't be right.
You say you see my point but it seems to me that it has been completely missed. The peice has nothing to do with whether or not he thinks the team is @#$%& or not but merely because it's nothing to do with how bad we have been it means he is ducking the issue or deflecting.
If you actually read Arseblog he is quite often critical of wenger and the team, including the same page this excerpt was taken from.

Oh I certainly agree with you there. I wasn't reviewing this article as a long line in attacks on players. I don't read many blogs to be honest. The only issue I see is the weight people then place on the comments made by the players. As if by decree their word should hold more substance than any other.
Everything we read should e taken with a pinch of salt as emotive writing and 'slants' are what sells papers and gets hits on websites.

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